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Topic Review (Newest First)

06-15-16 05:42 PM

LordNecross

Back to work

Dominous sat watching as they the off-worlders spoke with the Space Marine, however it seemed they had come to some sort of agreement as the power armored death-wielder stormed off and back into the bunker to do who knows what, but he was sure it was important and that not he nor his fellows humans would understand.

He then say one of the other PDF troops walk up to the off-worlders, trying to make nice it seemed as the started up some Iho sticks. Nasty habit in Krassus's eyes, but with such a low life expectancy in the business it couldn't hurt, after all if he had a flask he knew he wouldn't voluntarily be sober right now.

He hoped they would make up their minds soon, they needed supplies, and transport unless they planned to stay in a broken outpost with no chain of command. However it didn't seem he would have to wait long as the PDF who spoke with the off-worlders walked towards them. Krassus didn't really know his name either, but it didn't matter at the moment as the Trooper spoke up.

“According to the Angel and the two off-worlders, we need to burn the bodies and to do that we need to go get the promethium left in the wrecks of the cargo-haulers. Dom, Liam and Hal. You, me and Tobias are going on that particular field trip. The rest of you should probably report to the other off-worlder, Elias. He seems to know what he’s doing and probably out-ranks you anyhow. If you don’t like the idea of that, my suggestion would be to take it up with the Angel of Death. From what I hear, he’s very open to suggestions…”

Dom nodded,"About time, need to get some more ammo, hopefully anything else useful from them."

Dom went to stand up when the strangest thing happened next, another trooper from basic training came up and started barking orders, like the rest he had no name to put to him but he could tell him from the rest cause it seemed his head was planted firmly in his own rear.

"Trooper Grainer. Thank you for your report. I will take things from here though." He spoke, with what Dom assumed was his attempt at sounding important, though it was hard to understand him while he was muffled by his own ass. "Troopers Krassus, Grainer and Varks. Assist with the disposal of the bodies. Troopers Caul and Thede. Start searching for anything we can use to repair the gates. Dismissed."

Dom just raised an eyebrow on his scarred face as this would-be officer walked off to try and boss around the off-worlders it seemed.

The trooper, whom he knew as Grainer now, raised a brow as well. "What they hell just happened?"

Dom looked at him and then around at everyone else. "That right there is a case of pompous dimwit who is about to get himself shot." Dom almost mustered a chuckle but didn't.

"Well guess we should get to doing what the Off-worlders want, at least they understand what we are fighting."

Krassus picked up his Heavy stubber and headed over to the gate to wait for the rest of the group that was going to scavenge the haulers, maybe one of the haulers would be in good enough shape that Dom could get it running, that would certainly help.

06-11-16 03:01 PM

Asamodai

Everything was quiet. Was he dead? That seemed the most likely explanation. He didn't remember dying though. That was a blessing. It must have been quick and painless. As he laid face down in the dirt, he summoned up the courage to open his tightly scrunched up eyes. A part of him fully expected to find himself knelt at the feet of the Immortal God-Emperor himself. But there was no gleaming figure, no angels, only the ground he had thrown himself upon and the stench of blood and sweat.

He was alive.

Invigorated by this fact Jakon leapt to his feet and quickly dusted himself off. It simply would not do to be seen dirty and dishevelled. He took in the scene around him. The body of the Ork that had pursued him to vehemently lay nearby, its face a las burned mess. Jakon looked down his nose at the xenos beast, puffed out his chest and righteously spat on the dead Orks corpse.

A little further away the Space Marine was walking away from two more soldiers in unfamiliar garb, off-worlders, and heading into the main building. Jakon couldn't quite believe that he was in such close proximity to a being he had all but dismissed as myth and legend. Another of the PDF, Trooper Grainer approached the off-worlders. Jakon couldn't hear what they were saying and didn't like the idea of being left out of the loop. He took a moment to consider their next course of action. With no PDF officer present he was naturally now their de-facto leader, this much was obvious and in the wake of the slaughter they would need a strong guiding hand.

The gates needed repairing in some manner. The bodies of the Orks needed disposing of. Personally he needed to replace his weapon as he own carbine was now in two pieces and out of sight.

He was about to start barking out orders when Trooper Grainer approached. “According to the Angel and the two off-worlders, we need to burn the bodies and to do that we need to go get the promethium left in the wrecks of the cargo-haulers. Dom, Liam and Hal. You, me and Tobias are going on that particular field trip. The rest of you should probably report to the other off-worlder, Elias. He seems to know what he’s doing and probably out-ranks you anyhow. If you don’t like the idea of that, my suggestion would be to take it up with the Angel of Death. From what I hear, he’s very open to suggestions…”

Report to the off-worlder? Jakon LaVeer would do no such thing. These were his soldiers. His command. While the outsiders plan was sound, such information should come through Jakon and he would decide how best to assign his men.

"Trooper Grainer. Thank you for your report. I will take things from here though." Jakon said with all the authority he could muster, stepping to the head of the scattered group and purposefully placing himself in front of Grainer, turning his back on him. "Troopers Krassus, Grainer and Varks. Assist with the disposal of the bodies. Troopers Caul and Thede. Start searching for anything we can use to repair the gates. Dismissed."

He didn't look to see if anyone had listened to him. He shouldn't have to. He turned on his heel and marched towards the off-worlders. As he drew close he came to a purposeful halt, stomping his right foot in perfect parade ground fashion and standing at attention.

"Soldiers of the Emperor. I thank you for your assistance. Alow me to introduce myself. I am Private Jakon LaVeer of the Prolial Planetary Defence Force. In light of our current situation I now command these men. If you wish anything of them your request shall come through me. I assume that shall not be a problem."

06-07-16 11:07 PM

Euphrati

The wet taste of the beast’s grey matter on my pallet is sickening, I have to fight down the instinctive urge to spit the foul pulp onto the holo table before me.

Slowly, I chew and let my body do the wonders it was designed for.

-

I can feel the speed, hot and fierce, as the trukk bellow me bucks and swerves in the pack. My driver snarls and makes a side swipe at the bike beside us, forcing it to careen away in a cloud of dust and curses. I howl the joy it brings to the winds of this world.

Hummies. Good fight with much in the way of plunder awaits. Boss always picks good runs.

I hear him barking orders from his place at the lead of the pack, and feel the envy of his massive trukk as my driver breaks away from the group.

Go. Hunt. Find something worth our name to bring back.

Boss always picks the good runs.

-

I can see the hummie city down by the wet stuff, I growl my desire to be moving and not sitting here… watching.

The skyline lights up and I snarl.

My boys whoop and shout as the hummie city is no more. Flame and fire from the sky.

I glance up and see the massive hulk overhead.

I feel my lips draw back in a grin as I reach over to slap my driver on the back of his head.

Time to move.

-

Boss.

His deep green skin is a mess of tattoos and markings, bared to all so they can see his power.

I growl under my breath; he has done well but I could do better…

He catches me looking his way and laughs from the back of his trukk, the huge talkie array towering behind him.

Eh, he’s Boss, for now, until I get stronger.

-

Something else rises from the depths of the xeno’s memories.

It uncoils, serpentine and distinctly other, from the bestial emotions that colour the orkish thoughts.

A serpent wreathed in cerulean flames burns brightly in my mind.

-

I open my eyes. I had not realized that I had closed them.

I can feel the growl of displeasure at this slip from between my bared teeth. My breath is tight and hot, my body reacting to the urge to do violence by triggering the combat stims in my armour’s reserves.

I hear a loud crack and glance down to see the edge of the stone table shattered under my grip.

Slowly, with far more difficulty than I care to admit, I uncurl each of my fingers from where they have indented into the fractured stone.

I lift my helm from the surface of the table and lock it back into place with more force than necessary. My vision washing red and runes tracking across the room looking for targets.

My heartrate flickers at the edge of my vision, my secondary heart joining the thunder of my primary as it approaches battle height.

I can feel my lips pull back and another wet growl curl inside my helm.

Suddenly, I step away from the table, my eyes locked on the bisected skull of the xeno brute leaking blood across the surface.

I shake my head and speak the words of a litany of Hatred of the Alien with a wet growl to my voice.

I cannot face the humans like this or it will not be xenos that dig their graves.

06-06-16 09:54 PM

Deus Mortis

And just like that it was over. The courtyard which had only moments before been a riotous pandemonium of gun-fire, sweat and blood was now comparatively quiet. I didn’t move from my post at the window for several moments. I had thought we were safe before the doors blew open and I wasn’t sure that we were out of the woods yet. Still, the off-worlders and the black-clad behemoth were freely talking. If they were sure of our relative safety, I would follow their lead.

I was increasingly aware of the relative smallness of the building we’d huddled in, diminished somewhat by the gaping hole in the wall and the open windows but small none the less. More than the size of the room, and my desire to move into the courtyard, I was aware of the pain in my leg. We were not truly safe yet, and as such there was no time to waste with rigorous medical procedure. It needed to be wrapped and endured until we reached a manned outpost.

I sat down, my back against the window frame and contorted my leg round to look at the wound. Where the shrapnel had gone through my trouser was slightly singed. That was good news. If the shard had been hot when it had gone in, it would likely have cauterized its own entry wound and would bleed less. I rolled my trouser leg up, exposing my lower leg. I would need to bandage it with something and, as meagre protection as it provided, I wasn’t willing to tear my own clothes apart. To my right was the corpse of the third off-worlder. I leaned over and pulled him closer.

Taking out my combat knife I cut away a few strips of fabric from his already mangled clothes. “It’s not like you’ll be needing them.” I justified to the dead-man. I doubt his compatriots would be too appreciative of me desecrating their dead. I reached into the wound, breaking the crust of charred flesh by doing so, and found the shard. With a grunt I worked it out of my leg, flecks of charred flesh fused to it. Spots of blood marked my fingertips and more blood slowly oozed from my calf. Quickly I wrapped the pilfered strips of fabric around my leg, tight enough to keep the sides of the wounds close together but lose enough to afford me movement. I extended and contracted my leg a few times to check it and, satisfied, I rolled down my trouser leg and stood up.

The off-worlders and the colossus had stopped speaking and now it was coming towards the building. I was as wary of it as I was awed by it. Perhaps it was coming to reprimand me for staying in the building so long. Perhaps it thought me a coward. I had felt its cold glare when it had killed the ork and its harsh command to Hal told me if it found me wanting there would be all hell to pay.

I made a quick exit, arriving from the hole it had made. I assumed it would speak to me, question why I had taken so long but it didn’t even look at me. It looked through me, behind me. It came directly at me, not even acknowledging I was in its path and it was very apparent that if I didn’t move he would walk though me and over me, probably without noticing. I quickly moved out of its way and let it go about its business. It was probably better that it didn’t speak to me, for I’m not sure what it might have said or what I would have done in response.

I briefly ruminated on the giant war-machine. There were tales told be preachers and clerics of the Emperor’s Angels of Death. Spirits of retribution called by the drums of war and the sins of Mankind’s many enemies. Clad in thick armour plating and wielding the most destructive weaponry imaginable, they brought salvation to the worthy and death to the mutant, the heretic and the xenos. Such tales seemed too fanciful to be true, but how else would I describe this being that delivered us than with such apocryphal language. The off-worlders seemed to know more about this being than I did.

I approached the two of them, reaching for my fresh pack of lho. "Greetings off-worlders. Thanks for the help. I'm sorry about your friend." I took a stick for myself and offered the contents of the packet to the pair.'Thank you, friend,' the larger, more weathered one said stiffly. 'That's a filthy habit.'
"Maybe, but at this rate we'll all be dead by dawn, so I doubt it'll matter" I responded, the stick between my fingers and wry smirk on my lips. If these troopers were anything like old sailors, projecting confidence was key to endearing oneself to them. The more patrician of the two took one without persuasion however 'Fug it, my whole squad just died.' *Yeah, and most of my platoon* I thought to myself, but I kept that to myself.

I lit my lho-stick. "If you don't mind my asking, is that..." I began, gesturing to the main building "...what I think it is?" If they had to ask, I was probably going to sound exceedingly foolish.'The Angel? aye.' So the stories were true. 'You might be dead by Dawn,' he nodded his head curtly. 'I won't be.'
The larger of the pair laughed with an infectious echo. 'Don't worry, I'll look after you. If the Orks come, I'll give you the Emperor's Mercy.' He looked almost too serious to be joking. Even if he wasn’t I couldn’t waver at the thought of such an action, else he would likely think less of me. I had to match him
"I appreciate the offer but I think you might have to beat the Angel to it." From what I had seen of him so far, I was confident that much was true.

The revelation continued to unfold in my mind. My thoughts escaped my lips as I took another long draw of my lho. "An Angel of the Emperor. We're not fit to lick its boots. No wonder it regards us as vermin." 'Emperor knows how the hell he ended up here the same time as us. I guess that's why we call them angels.' The movement of the more patrician of the pair brought me back to the moment 'Don't grovel to him.''He's in the same boat as us,' The other said 'And it's sinking.' As much as I wanted to disagree, we had started this evening with probably over four dozen men. Now there was only half a dozen of them left.

"Well, pray tell, what are the names of my crew-mates on this damned voyage?" Another draw. The less worn of the pair cocked an eyebrow, as if I had asked a curious question. The larger of the two extended a hand, which I took firmly.'Elias, but you can call me sir.' He smirked and it made me want to smile too, though I suspect the joke was more at me than with me.'Just call me Corporal. We'll all be dead by dawn, anyway.' Said the other. Elias struck his fellow's helmet with his palm.
[I]'That's Tobias, my brother.'[I]

I was convinced they were screwing with me. They probably knew damn well I wouldn’t know what rank they really were or if it had the same significance as in the PDF. Presumably Elias felt his brother had taken the joke too far. Or been too forthright.
"I'm Alec..." I said, finishing my lho. I dropped the stub to the floor and ground it under-foot as I spoke "...and whatever your ranks actually are, I'd wager there a damn sight higher than mine anyhow and I'd say that puts you at the helm of this ship, after him..." Again, I gestured to the Angel of Death. "...and I assume that means there work to be done."

Tobias, still scowling at Elias, put out his own stick in turn.'The angel says we have to burn all of these beasts.'
"I'll make a start piling bodies then."'Not yet. Get a group of troopers together to come outside the wall with me. We need to get Promethium from the wrecks, and burn the bodies outside, too.' he turned to his brother 'Are you coming with me, Elias?''I'll stay here,' Elias said. 'Get this rabble together, try to fix the breach. Watch yourself, Tobias.''Right, onto the chores then.'

"I'll grab that big guy on top and two others. With the Angel staying with you, sir, I'd wager that's fair…” neither of them were listening to me anymore. They’d both begin to wander off to their own respective tasks. I could hardly have expected anything different, they knew nothing of me or anyone else, save that they had to save our arses. Still, they didn’t seem to actively dislike me, which was a positive at least.

I walked over to the rest of PDF soldiers. “According to the Angel and the two off-worlders, we need to burn the bodies and to do that we need to go get the promethium left in the wrecks of the cargo-haulers. Dom, Liam and Hal. You, me and Tobias are going on that particular field trip. The rest of you should probably report to the other off-worlder, Elias. He seems to know what he’s doing and probably out-ranks you anyhow. If you don’t like the idea of that, my suggestion would be to take it up with the Angel of Death. From what I hear, he’s very open to suggestions…”

06-01-16 11:10 AM

unxpekted22

Tobias watched the black-armored giant walk back up the rubble into the ruined building where Jacques' guts were still scattered about. He thought of several things to say, but couldn't form any fully enough to actually voice the words. Ridiculously lucky? He couldn't fully admit that. He would be dead right now. He couldn't quite get himself to say that definitively, either. Something about how massive and inspiring the warrior was? Well, that was obvious and didn't need to be said.

He and Elias only shared a look. For the first time in a long time, Tobias wasn't quite sure what his brother's face was telling him. He figured it likely that the same mixture of thoughts were running through his own mind, so there was nothing definitive on Elias's lips, eyes, and forehead to read.

'Greetings off-worlders. Thanks for the help. I'm sorry about your friend.' One of the PDF troopers had come down the rubble, passing the Marine. He had walked right up to the pair of Elysians without hesitating, lighting up an Iho stick and offering one in turn. As the man stood there with his hand out, Tobias looked over his short, curly black hair and beard and couldn't help but feel like he had known him from somewhere. He had famliar look to him, but Tobias shook it off knowing it wasn't possible, as his brother kindly turned down the offer.

'Thank you, friend,' Elias said stiffly. 'That's a filthy habit.'

'Maybe, but at this rate we'll all be dead by dawn, so I doubt it'll matter' replied the trooper, wryly.

'Fug it, my whole squad just died.' said Tobias, taking the Iho stick in a hurry, before the trooper could withdraw his hand, who continued the conversation.

'If you don't mind my asking, is that...' gesturing towards the building, just as the gleaming black warplate of the Astartes disappeared within, '...what I think it is?'

'The Angel? Aye.' Tobias lit the Iho Stick, and took in a long drag. Blowing the smoke out overhis lips he rolled his eyes over the sky above. 'You might be dead by Dawn,' he nods his head curtly. 'I won't be.'

Elias laughed, and shook his head, 'Don't worry, I'll look after you. If the Orks come, I'll give you the Emperor's Mercy.'

Tobias chuckled at this, taking a step back and seeming to purposefully look at everything but the trooper.

'I appreciate the offer...' he said, his tone still slightly jovial, but his eyes searched Elias's face to see if he was joking or not. '...but I think you might have to beat the Angel to it.' The trooper took another draw from his lho. 'An Angel of the Emperor. We're not fit to lick his boots. No wonder he regards us as vermin.'

Tobias wasn't sure if the trooper had decided to simply continue the conversation by himself or if he as still addressing them.

Tobias stared up toward the ruined building that the Space Marine walked into, and decided to give the man the benefit of his doubt for a moment, 'Emperor knows how the hell he ended up here the same time as us. I guess that's why we call them angels.' He looked at the trooper again, pushing his lasgun up more securely on his shoulder. 'Don't grovel to him.' he said further.

'He's in the same boat as us,' Elias said. 'And it's sinking.'

'Well, pray tell, what are the names of my crew-mates on this damned voyage?'

Tobias cocked an eyebrow.

Elias kicked the turf and extended a gloved hand out. 'Elias,' He smirked. 'But you can call me sir.'

Elias said it jokingly, but Tobias didn't catch on, or didn't particularly care either way.

'Just call me Corporal. We'll all be dead by dawn, anyway.' There was no light hearted humor in his tone. He was serious about the title, and spiteful in his mockery.

Elia's quick hand smacked upside his head. He had taken his helmet off while making sure the orks were dead, now wishing he hadn't. He flicked the Iho stick and held a hand to his reddening ear, scowling at his brother. Being in their adult prime hadn't changed them much, apparently.

'That's Tobias, my brother,'

'I'm Alec..." said the trooper, finishing his lho, dropping the stub to the floor and grinding it under-foot as he continued, '...and whatever your ranks actually are, I'd wager they're a damn sight higher than mine anyhow and I'd say that puts you at the helm of this ship, after him..." he'll say, cocking his head, indicating the Space Marine once more.

'The Angel says we have to burn all of these beasts.' said Tobias, still scowling.

'I'll make a start piling bodies then.'

'Not yet. Get a group of troopers together to come outside the wall with me. We need to get Promethium from the wrecks, and burn the bodies outside, too.'

After a moment to let the plan sink in, he turned to his kin and fellow Elysian, 'Are you coming with me, Elias?'

"I'll grab that big guy on top and two others. With the Angel staying with you, sir, I'd wager that's fair….’ Tobias heard Alec saying, but he and Elias were already wandering off in separate directions, and neither of them bothered to turn back around.

All dialogue provided by players, of course.

05-29-16 05:40 AM

LordNecross

The Dust Settles

Dominous walked down from the wall and found a place to sit on some rubble, he fished through his uniform till he found a rag which he proceeded to use to clean his face and beard, which had flecks of green xeno blood in it. After wiping the blood off he went about cleaning his gun with that same rag, he began to disassemble it, treating it like he would any engine or generator, or other machine he use to work on, cleaning the parts. He took out a bit of oil, standard issue for stubber upkeep, and got to cleaning and oiling the parts. He hadn't worked with stubbers much while he was an Officer in the local Arbites, more used to his own shotgun than fully auto-weapons. The PDF training had only covered weapon maintenence a bit, however Krassus had always been a fast learner with all things mechanical, he never bothered with chants or 'rites' as he worked on things, as it didn't seem to help the task at all, so he figured it was just some sort of propaganda by the tech weirdos, similar to the Ecclesiarchy's own brand of useless mumbling.

He let his mind wander as he finished cleaning the weapon and making sure it was reassembled and loaded, he looked over to the group that had formed around what he could obviously tell now was one of the legendary steel angels of The Emperor of Man, he was impressed with the massive armored soldier's combat ability, that impressed him. However all the garbage he had heard in his youth did not accurately portray what he saw before him, this was no angel, their was no glowing aura of the Emperor's presence or wings for that matter. It just confirmed for him that there was a lot of hyperbole in everything he had ever heard from any authority that wasn't his peers.

The group that had formed around this massive armor soldier, the Astartes, had a few other more professional looking soldiers, much better equipped than his fellow PDF. He wondered where they had come from, they had been in the building it seems, but for how long. He couldn't tell what they were saying but he could only guess that they were trying to make a plan for what to do next, and probably what to do with what remained of this PDF platoon. He sighed as he checked his ammo reserves, he was okay for now but it would be nice to get more ammo, probably man-stopper rounds for the armored orks and some shredder rounds for the softer ones. If he could get some better munitions it would greatly help in making the heavystubber effective with this strange enemy. He still wished he had his custom shotty, he bet a solid slug from it hit harder than this stubber ever could.

He sat and waited to see what the group of soldiers and the Astartes would want from them. He smirked to himself as he thought of his youth when he had played pretend with his friend about being Angels of the Emperor, it seemed ridiculous now, especially seeing one in person, a thing made for war, he preferred his old life instead, though it was gone now. He seemed to have that in common with the power armored soldier, their life was only war now.

05-29-16 02:24 AM

Euphrati

The moments just after battle are the hardest to grasp in my mind.

I am made for war, crafted to be the ultimate weapon of humanity, it is not surprising that I covet the hot rush like a starving man craves the smallest morsel of food. I can almost understand how some of my distant cousins could lose themselves in the fog of war like the blood-maddened sons of the great Angel. I feel the pounding of my twin hearts, my breath a growling force within the close confines of my battle helm, as I turn away from the prone human I just saved.

There is a wash of disappointment as my eyes track the courtyard and find nothing but the silent corpses of the xenos filth.

I draw in a breath, letting it out slowly between clenched teeth as I will my body down from the pinnacle of battle. Even as my body relents, like a hound called to heel, my mind is far from still.

For now, in the moments between this battle and the coming storm, I must seek to become a different sort of weapon. A weapon of knowledge.

-

Theo takes a step away from the pdf trooper that lay still prone on the ground, letting his senses calm from the heightened state of battle and taking full measure of the outpost around him.

Movement caught his attention as one of the elysian troopers approached warily, leaving the second one attempting to sever the head of one of the lesser greenskins. The man spat to clear his throat of the smoke that choked the air before speaking, his accented tones cutting through the sudden silence of the courtyard as he held his enhanced las weapon in the loose grip of a seasoned fighter.

'It's good to see you, Angel.' Theo turned his helm to regard the speaker, he seemed young but Theo found his lack of familiarity with humans made it difficult to judge such a thing. 'I won't kneel, and I won't ask you to bless me,' Theo raised a hidden eyebrow at the bluntness of the human’s tone as the drop trooper chewed at his lip between words as if uncertain how to truly address the astartes warrior before him, 'I know what you are. You're a killer.'

The second trooper seemed to have given up on his attempt to sever the xeno’s head as he spat a curse before putting a las bolt though the creature’s skull and joined his fellow before the young Templar, 'Aye, thank you Angel, for the support.'

Theo turned his glowing eye lenses to regard each of the humans before him before returning to stare at the first. He stood in absolute silence for a long moment, fetid xenos’ blood dripping slowly from his form, the low growl of active astartes battle plate the only thing that separated him from an inanimate statue as he decided how to respond to the address.

There was a bluntness to the elysians that struck a chord in the son of Dorn. Theo decided that he liked the pair for their disregard of the frivolous formalities humans would insist upon that graded on his nerves.

'You are no good to me on your knees,’ Theo gave a sharp gesture to the cooling corpses, ‘There will be more coming. Drawn by the sounds of fighting.'

The first trooper sniffed in agreement as he spoke, 'Like waifs to the smell of food. You have fought Orks before?'

Theo turned away from the question, looking towards the outer wall and giving a frustrated growl at the destruction before turning back,

'Yes, I have.’ His words were a blunt fact, ‘This is only the chaff before the storm that is coming. Gather the planetary troops, the wall needs to be sealed and I will require a group to return to the transports to scavenge any and all supplies left in their...’ Theo’s voice dropped to a dangerous level, ‘Flight.’

His tone was like the promise of a sword’s killing edge, ‘Warn them if they ever try to flee from a foe in my presence again they will not find my ire pleasant.'

Theo continued, gesturing around to the corpses, 'These need to be burned, outside of the walls as far as you can drag them. Use the fuel from the damaged transport if need be but their taint must be removed or this world will forever bear their stain.'

The second trooper spoke up in reply, 'I'd be happy to burn them. And don't worry, Angel, if anyone flees in front of me I'll kill them myself.' The elysian looked over at the mustering remains of the pdf before continuing. 'We lost our whole squad coming through the front of that storm you speak of, and I'm not about to let cowards fill those boots.'

Theo felt a cold thread of sorrow tug at his soul as the human spoke of his lost squad brothers. He was silent a long moment before speaking again, 'My crusade holds records of fighting by the side of the Elysian regiments,' the young Templar paused before continuing, 'I am Theodoricus of the Crusade Heriklas. Do you have a way of contacting your commanding officers?'

It was the first that spoke up in reply, 'Elias,' the human said, jutting his chinstrap at the other 'And my brother, Tobias. We're in the dark, Angel - Our transport came down,' the human took a deep breath. 'We may be the last.'

Theo gave a faint nod, 'I am the last of my squad. We enacted an attack on the hulk in orbit but the tide of the xenos had already started to flow down to this world. I do not know if my brothers still fight on in the skies, but my last command was to make planet fall and link up with the guard forces on this world.’ The young Templar gave a pause for his words to sink in and to glance towards the pdf troopers. He turned over the meager number of the human troops left in his thoughts, finding the odds of them surviving a second attack not very high if things remained the same as they were. He cursed inwardly before continuing, 'I must locate the driving force of the xenos hoard. Without the head the beast will falter.'
'I don't like the idea of Angels dying...' the human named Tobias shakes his head and leaned in closer to his brother and the towering Templar. 'Since none of us are from here, I'm going to ask these troopers if any of them can point us in the direction of an actual base.'

Theo gave a low grunt, recalling his own tactical knowledge of the area, ‘There is nothing of note within two hundred kilometers of this installation. It is likely that there is holo-display of the regional area within there,’ Theo gestured towards the gaping hole in the main building’s flank with his armoured first in a curt manner, ‘Though if it still functions is another matter entirely.’

The young Templar paused, turning to the man named Tobias and letting his blood coloured lenses track over the human before speaking again.

Theo's voice is strangely soft when he spoke next, even growled through the mechanical distortion of his helm’s vox there is a zealous weight to his words, 'We are the oath-bound sons of the noble Primarch Rogal Dorn, our duty only ends in death, mortal.'

'Funny,' Elias grunted. 'Our death usually comes from duty.'

'And there is no greater honour than to die with the hatred of mankind's enemies on your lips. Let your last breath be in defiance and it shall echo through eternity.' Theo hefted up the ork nob's head and looked back to the hole in the wall he made fighting it.

'See that I am not disturbed for a moment, it may be the only chance I get to understand what storm we face.' Theo turned away from the humans without another word and stalked away through the rubble to disappear within the outpost’s darkness.

-

I pause in the shadows of the building’s interior, glancing around and nodding as my eyes come to rest upon a blood spattered and dust-covered holo-projector. It appears to be mostly intact, with some minor damage made by the orkish explosives.

I brush aside the chips of stone from its surface and place the nob’s head down for a moment, the metal link hanging from the xeno’s mouth making a metallic chime as it settles on the stone lip.

I pause for a moment, the aspect of what I am about to do turns my stomach yet the chance that the knowledge I seek is right within my gauntlets is enough to drive me onwards. With a sigh I reach up and find the release latches at my helm’s neck seal, the ruby lenses going dark as I pull my helm free and set it aside. The smell hits me first; the torn remains of the human under my feet, the reek of the xenos, the sharp bite of tortured stonework, and the metallic bite of chemical propellant.

Adamantium chains clatter coldly as I pull free my chainsword, the diamond-edged teeth chewing through xeno flesh and bone in an instant. The head flops to one side, fluids leaking out and skull bisected.

I lock my blade to my side before lifting a quivering grey chuck of xeno’s brain matter to my mouth and start to chew.

05-19-16 12:13 PM

darkreever

Liam; The Ork stumbles two steps to the side and then abruptly falls to the ground seemingly dead. Relief floods over you, both upon realizing there are no more Orks and because you managed to kill one of the aliens.

Alec, Liam, Dom, Hal, Jakon, Zachariah; With the last of the Orks dead, the sudden lack of noise feels strange and discomforting. At any moment you feel like the fighting could start up again, much like how the attack on the haulers had been so sudden and without warning.

[How do you react to the silence and aftermath of everything that has gone on? Jakon, when you hit the ground you saw that it was Liam who killed the Ork, the same individual you had nearly been responsible for leaving outside to die. Hal, for all life has thrown at you and despite your views of the world, the words of the hulking space marine still put fear in your soul.]

Theodoricus; Scanning the area for new threats, there no longer are any. The other soldiers managed to kill the last Ork, though many seemed to not know what to do. Looking each trooper over, its clear that all but one or two have any real training; milling about not knowing what to do. The Elysians are a different story, the pair moving from greenskin corpse to corpse and either putting a blade or shot into the head to ensure the xenos are truly dead. Though battle is done there is still the aftermath to contend with, burning the Ork bodies and searching the outpost for what happened to the occupants or more trouble.

Elias and Tobias; Hauling up and out from behind the wall you are just in time to see one of the PDF troopers pelt an Ork with a trio of las bolts like an experienced sniper might. The beast topples over, dead, as the space marine slams the last Ork into ground, saving another trooper in the process. No more hostiles does not mean its over though, Orks have a tenacious habit of getting up when they should be dead. With practiced ease, you make way to the corpses and either stab or shoot the dead Orks in the head; sooner than later these corpses will need to be piled up and burned as well.

[Theres still much to be done, do you gather the troopers and pile the bodies, search the outpost or search the perimeter for more breaches, or do you halt that to gather information? After all, how did a space marine and pair of Elysians happen to come to the rescue of a group of PDF troopers?]

05-19-16 11:55 AM

Deus Mortis

As I pulled the trigger, the wall exploded and my shot went wide. Instinctively I pulled back from the wall and scrambled away from the hole, my las-carbine pointed in the general direction of the commotion. What burst through was unmistakably an ork, the largest of the group. He had tumbled through the wall and a murderous black fog clung to it. In the heat of the moment, I thought it was just the fumes from whatever crude explosive it had used to breach the wall. I haphazardly fired a couple of shots, expecting the ork to rise and come for us. It would cover the few paces between us in an instant and I was already on my feet ready to run, regardless of the shard of metal in my leg.

But it didn’t come for us. The black fog pinned it to the ground and the light of the battle made part of it gleam like metal. As the seconds drew on and the ork began to wail, the fog took on a more corporeal form. I was relieved to see this incarnation of violence was aligned with us. But as it drew a growling sword almost as long as I was tall, as I heard its deep growling voice, as I stood to its full height and its red eyes pierced the dim light of the building, I knew that there were worse things in the galaxy than orks. I was terrified of this monster.

One of the off-worlders yelled at us and just like that, the armour-clad behemoth was gone. Out to enact more unspeakable violence presumably. I steadied myself again and returned to my post at the window frame. The building was considerably less secure now that it had a gigantic hole in the side, but any measure of protection between me and the munitions of the orks was a blessing. Incredibly, this black-clod hurricane covered the entire court-yard in nothing more than a couple of strides and careened into another ork. After seeing the work it had done on the previous ork, I knew enough to know this one didn’t stand a chance.

The off-worlders were running to join the fray, and Liam was taking pot shots. I heard the quite mewling of Zach beside me and the dust marked the tracks where tears had fallen. He was at his breaking point. I’d seen fear swallow men on deck before, paralyzing them rather than motivating them to move faster and stay alive. “We’ll get through this, stay with me.” I whispered. Zach would hear but over the roar of battle no one else would know his shame. All I could offer was the small measure of stability I had to share. I took aim on the only ork left alive in the courtyard. I aimed for its bare-chest. Despite the layers of sinew and bone between the skin and where its heart should be, I was confident my las-carbine would be able to get through with a few good hits. Plus, there was a better chance I would hit and not was ammunition. As the battle began to reach its conclusion, my own gun added its bark to the cacophony of death…

05-14-16 07:55 AM

Tha Tall One

Zach started to think that the building was perhaps the least safe place of the entire outpost, as for the third time the group inside was disturbed by a terrifying crash. This time, the poor structure was unable the onslaught it had to endure, and one of the walls collapsed inward. Zach came to regret his reflexive look at the duo that had caused this third moment of destruction, as the cloud dust from the walls hit him right in the face. The dust bit down on his eyes and throat, blinding him and starting a coughing fit that would last a while. His discomfort was, the least of his worries however, as he was sure that the creatures that had burst into the room would surely kill him in his state of defencelessness. He pressed himself against the wall beneath the window, with tears streaming down his face, and tried to at least gasp for air while he still could in between the coughs.
He was not killed however, and slowly his coughing subsided. His throat ached, and his voice was hoarse and raspy, but at least he could breathe regularly again. Whatever had burst into the room had left, and as far as he could see with his watery eyes, had left the rest of them intact.
The men they had found here were already shooting at the things outside, and shouting at everyone else to do the same. Zach turned around and steadied himself at the window again. Outside were only blurry shapes, and Zach wiped his fingers through his eyes once more. He looked again, and the blurry shapes had become figures again. He saw the outer walls, the dead in the courtyard, and two of the aliens still alive. He tried to aim for them, but was too afraid that he might hit the men they were fighting to pull the trigger. Everything moved so fast, and the itch still in his throat could cause his aim to waver at the wrong moment.

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